1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing system and an image processing apparatus, and particularly to an image processing apparatus, which can execute a job of performing image processing, and is connected to another image processing apparatus over a network, as well as a control program for the same and an image processing system including the above image processing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a system including image processing apparatuses such as MFPs (Multi-Function Peripherals) receives a job (which will be merely referred to as a “job” hereinafter) of performing image processing such as printing or transmission of scanned images from a Personal Computer (PC) or the like connectable to the system, the image processing apparatus stores the received job. When the image processing apparatus stores a plurality of jobs, it manages a processing order of the jobs and others. If the system includes a server, the server may manage, e.g., the order of output of the plurality of jobs to the image processing apparatus.
In this system, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-297332 has disclosed a technique, in which a print processing device stores a job of printing executed thereby, and will transfer the job to another print processing device for performing reprinting when the job is to be reprinted.
When a user enters a job in a conventional print processing device, an error may occur in the print processing device, or such a situation may occur that another job of a large size is already entered or volumes of jobs are already entered. In this case, the user must wait a long time until the printing of the job entered by the user is executed.
In connection with the above disadvantage, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-189581 has disclosed a technique for a system in which a plurality of printers are connected over a network. According to this technique, when an error occurs in a printer receiving a job, another appropriate printer connected over the network is found, and the job is transferred to the found printer. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-109595 has disclosed a technique relating to transfer of a job between printers, and particularly a technique managing transfer conditions by a server.
According to the techniques disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Patent Publication Nos. 2002-189581 and 2001-109595, it can be considered that a time required until execution of the job can be reduced, for example, even when an error occurred in the printer receiving the job.
However, according to the technique disclosed in these publications, selection of the printer as the destination is performed on the system side.
Therefore, when the conventional image processing system transfers the job from the image processing apparatus, in which the job was entered, to another image processing apparatus, it is necessary to determine and identify the image processing apparatus of the destination.
Meanwhile, when the user intends to transfer the job to the image processing apparatus which is desired by the user at this point in time, the user must perform complicated operations by himself/herself More specifically, the user must cancel the job on the image processing apparatus in which the job was entered, and must enter the job in a desired different image processing apparatus after confirming, e.g., that an error has not occurred.
For reentering the job, the user must go to a place of the desired different image processing apparatus to confirm, e.g., that there is no error. Then, the user brings an original document to that place, and causes the different image processing apparatus to read the original document. After this reading, the user returns to a place of a PC connected over the network, and performs processing for entering a job. Therefore, the user must perform complicated processing.
When it is necessary to log in to the different image processing apparatus for executing the job by this different image processing apparatus, it may be necessary to determine, e.g., whether the user is registered in this image processing apparatus or not. This requires the user to perform further complicated operations.